The Sunday Junkie: Aug. 18 edition

It was one of the best cards in recent UFC history, so it’s no surprise Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 26 event and the organization’s FOX Sports 1 debut was the topic du jour in today’s edition of The Sunday Junkie.

MMAjunkie.com readers discussed all aspects of the action-packed card, including Chael Sonnen’s future, Alistair Overeem’s latest setback, Travis Browne’s title worthiness, and where Matt Brown should be in the rankings.

But this week’s winner, Indiana’s Kevin Lee, took a hard stance on how we treat and hype fighters from “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, namely Uriah Hall.

For his winning entry, Kevin wins a free one-year subscription to “Fighters Only” magazine, the world’s leading MMA and lifestyle magazine.

Want to submit to next week’s edition of The Sunday Junkie? Scroll to the bottom of the page for instructions.

Also, as a reminder, please be sure to include your hometown and stick within the 150-word limit (and include your submission in the body of an email, not in an attachment). Many quality submissions this week didn’t meet those minimum guidelines and couldn’t be considered for publication.

(Pictured: Uriah Hall)

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STOP HYPING ‘ULTIMATE FIGHTER’ COMPETITORS

It seems every time someone dominates on “The Ultimate Fighter,” Dana White and the media want to say the guy is the next big thing. After competing on “TUF 17,” Uriah Hall was supposed to be the “nastiest” fighter to come from the show. Just because a guy can beat up a bunch of UFC wannabes who haven’t made it in the big leagues doesn’t mean he is anything. After “TUF 8,” Phillipe Nover was supposed to be the next Anderson Silva. That lasted all of 0-3 in the UFC. Hall now is 0-2. These guys get so much hype behind them that it makes what is said look overzealous when all they do is lose. Before saying a guy who comes from the “TUF” competition is anything, let’s see how he does under the lights with thousands in the audience and millions viewing on television or pay-per-view.

Kevin Lee
Evansville, Ind.

WHAT THE CULINARY UNION DOESN’T KNOW

Since I don’t have cable, I’ve established a tradition of visiting my parents’ place every time there is a UFC event. My mother is usually somewhere in the vicinity of the octagon, though not always cageside by way of one of the chairs or couches. On Saturday night for UFC Fight Night 26, she offered me what she deemed to be the best seat of the house as she “didn’t plan on watching.” I did not take her up on her offer but remained on the couch. Some time before the co-main event, my mother admitted, “I’m kind of getting into it.” Although there are still times where she takes in the action through a grimace and her version of covering up, it seems she has become, if not yet a fan, at least someone who has developed an appreciation of the sport. A mother and son bonded while watching fights. Take that, culinary union!

Joshua Garriott
Westerville, Ohio

SHALLOW DIVISION PROVIDES TRAVIS BROWNE THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME

The heavyweight division has been shallow for a long time, and it appears the stars have aligned for Travis Browne. With Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos fighting for a third time, it would seem unlikely the loser will get another rematch. The next in line would have been Daniel Cormier, Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum. With Cormier moving to 205 pounds and Overeem getting knocked out by Browne, Werdum remains the only reasonable option for the next title shot. From the buzz that should be generated from the incredible comeback knockout win for Browne, I believe he will leapfrog over Werdum as the No. 1 contender. A worst-case scenario should have them facing off against each other for that opportunity. Not a bad position to be in, considering he was seconds away from losing at UFC Fight Night 26 and instead now has himself positioned for a title run, and he surely gained some fans along the way with his performance.

“GrapeDrink”
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

POSSIBILITIES FOR TRAVIS BROWNE

With his win over Alistair Overeem, Travis Browne has vaulted himself into the top of the heavyweight division. Overeem was by far his biggest win name-wise and helps us forget about Browne’s loss to “Bigfoot” Silva. He showed that he is a top guy and could realistically be one fight away from a title shot. As far as his next fight is concerned, there are a bunch of different ways the UFC could go. They could schedule him against the winner of Josh Barnett vs. Frank Mir or even Fabrico Werdum if he is willing to fight another non-title fight. Even throw him in against the winner of Daniel Cormier vs. Roy Nelson or let him fight Stipe Miocic. If he won one of those matchups, he would then be ready for a title shot.

Joel “Chico Guapo” Wielenga
Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada

WHY ISN’T MATT BROWN RANKED?

Matt Brown’s impressive 29-second KO of Mike Pyle runs him to six straight wins with five KO/TKO finishes and will put him in contender status or at least certainly get him a spot in the welterweight rankings, right? Unfortunately, it is hard to say when you consider that the UFC has five guys ranked in the top 10 who all are coming off losses and three of those are coming off 2 losses: Carlos Condit (ranked No. 2), Nick Diaz (ranked No. 7) and Josh Koscheck (ranked No. 10). I guess you can make the same argument that the BCS does and say that those guys have faced tougher competition, and maybe that is true up to a point, but it is also a stretch when you consider the way in which Brown has been winning. He deserves a matchup with a top 5 guy, maybe somebody like Jake Ellenberger.

Luke C. Payson
Norristown, Pa.

HAS SONNEN FOUND ANOTHER BACKDOOR TO A TITLE SHOT?

After Saturday’s amazing win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in a main event he didn’t deserve to be in after two straight losses, Chael Sonnen called out “The Axe Murderer,” Wanderlei Silva. If he wins his next matchup, he’ll most likely drop back down to middleweight (no point getting another pop at Jon Jones because he couldn’t make a dent there) and will get a title shot against the winner of Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva 2. Lose two title fights at one weight, go up a weight. Lose a title shot and win two against fighters past their best and receive a title shot at the former weight? A backdoor if ever I saw one. Dan Henderson will not be happy.

Paul Brazil
Dublin, Ireland

TOO SOON TO THINK ABOUT WEIDMAN VS. SONNEN?

After Chael Sonnen’s impressive victory over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua Saturday night, I’m left thinking, “What’s net for this guy?” Whatever it may be, I hope he wins because I’m already thinking about a potential bout between him and the new 185-pound king, Chris Weidman. I know that a lot of stars need to fall into line for that to happen. Weidman needs to win his first title defense, against the greatest of all time in Anderson Silva. Sonnen can’t wait around for that fight. It could be a year until that happens. So he will need to get a win to stay on track. If all those things fall into place, I think it would make for a very interesting fight. I think it’s a fight that Sonnen should definitely have on his radar.

“Nate G”
British Columbia, Canada

FOX SPORTS 1 DEBUT A BLUEPRINT FOR WHAT PPV COULD BE

First off I would like to take my hat off to the UFC brass for what is by far the best card I’ve watched. The UFC Fight Night 26 fights were put together strategically to ensure quality fights where the majority of them made sense in the title picture, and with a little bit of luck and some monumental performances, it made Saturday’s card one to remember. But it makes me reflect on previous cards in which the main event is solid and the rest of the card is just collateral. To create more fans and stimulate pay-per-view buys, cards like we just witnessed are a must. I acknowledge that cards like this are demanding on the roster, but could fewer PPVs – but with far more quality – be the answer? To recruit a new fan, we can’t have them tuning in to lackluster cards that we have seen in the past.

James Watterson
Coogee Beach, New South Wales, Australia

ALISTAIR OVEREEM INCAPABLE OF LEARNING HIS LESSON

One would think that after Alistair Overeem’s embarrassing knockout loss to Antonio Silva back in February that he would learn to respect his opponents and go for the finish as soon as it presents itself. Travis Browne absorbed some of the most grueling knees that I have ever seen at UFC Fight Night 26, ones that Brock Lesnar could not endure. Overeem had Browne badly hurt and decided to move in on him with heavy feet and hands low with his chin exposed. Overeem has been around too long and gets paid too much to be making the same mistake over and over again. Alistair, respect your sport and respect your opponent.

Tripp Robbins
Herndon, Va.

WHAT ABOUT MACHIDA-RUA 3?

It seems to me that the UFC only really cares about Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos 3 as far as rubber matches go. Does anyone else see the potential in Lyoto Machida vs. Maurico “Shogun” Rua 3? Both fighters are coming off losses and need to show that they still matter in the division. They have always matched up very well against each other stylistically. I think Joe Silva should consider it and also consider a rematch with Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva. They are both on win streaks, and again, it would be a good matchup of styles. Additionally, Belfort has already said he’d rather not fight at middleweight, so it all works out perfectly. Come on Joe Silva: make it happen.

Josh Miramontez
Lancaster, Calif.

WHAT KIND OF MESSAGE IS BELLATOR SENDING?

I can’t tell Bellator how to run its business or promote its fights, but I think it’s a terrible mistake to put Tito Ortiz and Quinton Jackson as the main event of their first pay-per-view while Michael Chandler and Eddie Alvarez are the co-main event. Chandler and Alvarez are arguably the two biggest stars in Bellator right now. Ortiz and Jackson, on the other hand, are two UFC washouts. Now this is just my opinion, but what kind of message does it send when Bellator’s two biggest stars are playing second fiddle to two former UFC fighters well past their prime in Bellator’s first PPV when neither one of them has even fought for Bellator?

Garrett Ross
Kearney, Neb.

ALVAREZ SIGNING BAD FOR BELLATOR

Eddie Alverez is a great lightweight, and one I believe could be top 5. However, I firmly believe his reconciliation with Bellator is bad for the company. Before you jump to conclusions, look at the direction Bellator is going in: pay-per-view. Is it great to have two top fighters in a division? Yes, but when you are still trying to build the way they are, you want to be careful. You just spent a ton of money promoting Chandler to be the face of Bellator. What happens if Alverez wins the rematch in dominant fashion then does the same in a third fight? Then you have spent money, you get a great return for two events, but in the long term, you have ruined one of the stars in your company.

Dan Roth
Warren, N.J.

SHOULD HEAD SPIKES RESULT IN FINES?

One of the things that has the potential to ruin the sport of MMA for fans would be to see a serious spinal injury due to a fighter being spiked on his or her head. And it wouldn’t so much be the injury itself that turns people off, as all sports have inherent risks, but the fact that the governing bodies have done so little to discourage fighters from the illegal action would really play on the minds of many fans. Would it be so horrible if fighters were fined after the fight for a breach of this rule? I think it would be more horrible to see a man or woman paralyzed by an illegal action that has gone unpunished too often.

Nicholas John Ballatori
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

ROUSEY DESERVES POUND-FOR-POUND CONSIDERATION

As a fan I love thinking about the pound-for-pound rankings, pondering all of the fantasy matchups and how each top fighter really compares to the others. At the top, you see champions such as Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre. But every time I see a pound-for-pound ranking, I always see a name missing: the Queen of MMA, “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey. I see other rankings sometimes called “women’s pound-for-pound,” but that doesn’t sit well with me. We talk about the advancement of MMA, as well as the women’s divisions, yet we don’t include arguably the most dominant fighter in all of MMA in the pound-for-pound rankings. Why? Because women should have their own rankings? Did we forget about equality, but only when it comes to an imaginary ranking system? Rousey is a phenomenal fighter, so next time you are conjuring up an imaginary pound-for-pound ranking system let’s not forget the “Rowdy” one.

Elijahu “Hacksaw” Dugger
Wasilla, Alaska

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